Page 23 of Ruthlessly Mated

She wakes up about thirty minutes after we make camp. She wakes up angry, and comes storming out of the truck in her little smuggler’s outfit that is actually pretty adorable. I wonder what she’d look like in a dress. Unrecognizable, I think.

“Why the fuck are we not on the road?”

“We need a break.”

“No. We don’t. We need to get to Eclipse.”

“We need to stop and decide what we’re going to do.”

She turns back toward the truck. “I don’t care what you’re going to do. I’m going to Eclipse City.”

“You need to rest.”

“No. I don’t. I need to get my fucking cargo where it needs to be. If you three want to be stranded in the desert, be my absolute guest, but I am going to Eclipse. Bye bye now.”

“Sit down,” I snap. “The fire is lit and we’re going to eat.”

“What? What are we going to eat?”

“I’ve hunted down some rabbits. They’re on skewers, see?”

I point to the makeshift grill I’ve made on the fire, turning the long sticks on which the rabbit meat is cooking.

“Oh,” she says. “Maybe you’re not entirely useless.”

“Come and sit,” I say, softening my tone a little. Tailor is by the fire, recovering. Damon is somewhere in the dark, doing whatever he does.

She finally takes a seat, and I know she’s probably very happy not to be driving.

“Thank you for coming back for Tailor and me,” I say, holding her gaze in the flickering firelight. “You didn’t have to do that. I know you were angry.”

“Oh, was I? I thought I was properly submissive. Isn’t that what you called it right before you threatened to fuck my ass?”

That threat apparently really hit home.

The tone in her voice is curt and spicy. She’s not happy with me. I know that the fact she came all over my cock doesn’t mean she actually enjoyed being treated that way once the orgasm faded. It’s one thing to be turned on, stuck in a submissive female body, pushed into responding with wetness and need. It’s something else to deal with the feelings that come after that.

I’m sure she’s angry with me. I’m also sure she’s ashamed at how much she liked some of it. But I don’t get to tell her that right now. Now, I’m trying to make amends.

“I’m sorry your first mating was so rough,” I tell her. “I was an asshole.”

“Yeah. You were. You scared me. And you hurt me.”

“I thought you needed to be handled. Actually, I knew you needed to be handled. You were out of line and you were…”

“Fuck you.”

She doesn’t let me finish talking. She gets up and she storms off and I go after her because I do not want her getting back in that truck and leaving. It is hard to keep my temper right now. I am not used to apologizing to subordinates, and my mate is supposed to be subordinate. Nobody has told her that.

I grab her and spin her around to look at me. “Listen. I apologize for what I did wrong, but you are still my mate, and I am still your alpha, so you will show me some respect, or you will have a sore ass.”

“Well, that lasted all of five minutes, didn’t it. No more Mr. Nice Guy?” She snorts at me. “You can’t even pretend to be good. You’re a fucking monster, and we both know it.”

“Maybe I am, but so are you. I’m going to keep you in hand, Kita.”

Her eyes flash at me with feral fury. “I don’t need to be kept in hand. I’m at my best when I’m doing what I want, when I want, and you know it. I came for you because I’m fucking stupid, but I won’t stay stupid. I’ll save your life, but don’t think I won’t kill you.”

God, she is such a brat. Every word out of her mouth makes me want to thrash her.